Back in Texas

Well, I'm back in Texas - BOO!!!
I left yesterday afternoon. This time, Tony and Hannah took me to the airport. I wasn't AS sad leaving this time...until we pulled up to the airport! Don't get me wrong, I totally would have rather not come, but I didn't work myself all up in tears this time. I told Hannah I was leaving earlier in the week, so she was a little more prepared. I set her clothes out for the week and I told her about all the things she got to wear each day and what it meant on the day she would wear them. Like the outfit for Wednesday was the day she would get to go over to Maci's after Bobo's house (Tony's golf league starts and Jerry & Shelly are watching her) and then on Friday, she gets to wear a dress and the day she gets to wear the dress is the day I come back home!!
So as we pulled up to the terminal, I got sad and as I hugged Hannah, she started sobbing - mostly because she wanted to come with me and she wasn't allowed. I was sad leaving Tony too - it's never easy knowing I'm leaving him to be single dad for the week (that's not very easy), but he does a great job. And, Tony, just think, we get to celebrate our FIFTH ANNIVERSARY SOON!!! Speaking of, what are we going to do???

So my flight here was good. The plane wasn't that full so the seat next to me was empty. I got to sort of sprawl out and be comfortable. I took a short book that I've had from work for a while now. I read it through - good book. It's called The Fred Factor. It's a quick read about being exceptional - mostly about business, but definitely can apply to personal life too. I'm going to try to do a better job in both personal and business to be extraordinary!! The flight was a bit bumpy, but the pilot kept coming on the overhead to let us know what was going on, so it was fine. I snuck in a cat nap and then we landed on time. The whole ordeal of getting the rental car and driving to the hotel was much less intimidating this time since it was a bit familiar. I made it to my hotel easily. Texas roads and drivers are still crazy, but being a little familiar with the surroundings made it better.

Class today started out OK, but the afternoon lasted forever! Lots of statistic stuff today - BORING!!! We went until around 5:30 today too, so it was especially long. I then hunted all over town for a store and finally found a CVS. I needed conditioner since the one I brought is a 2-in-1 shampoo thing that I must have bought by mistake - I don't like that stuff!! And I picked up some water and a few snacks for the week. Then I grabbed a salad from the restaurant across the street and now here I am.

So the rest of the week should be just as uneventful. I am worried about taking my test on Friday. I just HAVE to pass this thing on my first try. All the other business managers in my region have passed on their first try, so the bar has been set and I need to reach it!

Well, that's about it, I guess. One day down - four more to go and I am back home and don't have to travel away for a while as far as I know!!!

Just stuff

So I don't really have a real purpose for blogging this week, but I guess I can share some happenings around here, although not all that exciting.

I have seasonal allergies - I think. I've never had them before, but all of a sudden this spring, I've got issues. It sounds like I have a cold and have symptoms like a cold, but I'm certain, I don't have a cold. I don't feel sick and my symptoms seem to come and go, so it's just not a cold! I have a lovely post-nasal drip thing going on, a runny nose and I get all plugged up mostly when I'm outside. Then yesterday, I suddenly got this cough thing and today, no more cough, just some more runny nose. I've been taking Claritin every day and it seems to help. Just so awfully strange since I've never before been bothered by spring time and tree pollen.

Hannah went to the doctor last Friday for her 3 year checkup. She was 31 pounds and 37-1/2 inches tall. Still at 50% for weight and height. They took her blood pressure for the first time - 82/42 (I think). He was pretty impressed with the things she's doing for a 3 year old. She can count to 29, knows all her colors/shapes, writes her name, knows her address & phone number, can hop on one foot, rides a bike with training wheels....all sorts of things that according to their charts they can do between 4-5. So, in other words, she's doing great and growing well.

Oh, I had forgotten to post her gymnastics picture from this year last week.

She's still doing great at class, last week was horrible for some reason - all the kids were crying and no one was listening. This week was MUCH better! We have her exibition performance in June, which I think ends the season. We weren't going to take her, but after finding out they perform and then get their names called to get a medal, I couldn't not have her go!! So that's in June and we get to buy the $35 ugly leotard!!! That makes me so happy! Really, it's fine and I'm so glad she likes it and it's really fun to watch! But really, it would be even better if the leotard wasn't ugly (it is - all rainbow-like with peace signs on it?!? - really? That's the best they could do????)

We got our new mattress last weekend!! So comfortable! Our bed is so much higher now, so no more dogs on the bed!! We have had a couple of really good night sleeps as far as comfort goes. The claritin still doesn't allow me to have a solid night sleep and I've still got all sorts of knots in the muscles of my back (thanks stress), but other than that, I think the mattress was the fix!! So worth it!

The 80 degree weather was great! I didn't mind being hot at all! Hannah loves it too because she can wear dresses all the time! I bought her a few more new dresses this weekend. She got to play over at our neighbor's on Friday night. We hung out there all evening. She loved driving the Barbie jeep! She tells me now that "when she's 16 and can drive, she's going to buckle me into a booster seat in the back seat of the car".

Oh, and for some really weird reason, she's been telling us about her friend Evan who lives in the house in our back yard. She's said it several times. The house definitely exists, but we've never met the people that live there. She tells me his name is Evan and he's her friend and she loves him. Weird! Not sure what that's all about??? There isn't even a boy that lives there as far as we know. Just an obnoxious older guy and his wife.

Work is good....not super stressful these past couple weeks, but also very productive. I'm DREADING that I have to leave for Texas again this Sunday for another week. I do not want to go - don't want to be away out of town and do not want to go through another week of training. Do not want to worry about passing the stupid test at the end of the week either! WAY too much stuff that I don't want to do all in one week! But then, I guess, the good news is then it'll be over! Hannah doesn't know I'm leaving again yet - we're thinking that I wait until Sunday to tell her. She's not going to be happy and I'm going to be so sad to leave again....oh, I guess I'll just enjoy the rest of this week before I get all worked up about leaving Sunday.

And that's about it! Not much else exciting that I can think of that's really all that blog-worthy.

Patience actually paid off

So remember that new mattress we wanted to get last week? Well, for once, Tony and I held off and didn't just buy what we wanted because it didn't feel like the right deal at the right time. I suppose if it were the new TV he wants instead of a mattress, we may have a different outcome to the story, but none-the-less, our patience paid off!

Just 5 days after walking away from the mattress store, we got a letter in the mail about the "mattress sale going on at the store we had been at"!! Couldn't believe the timing! So we went back up there Friday and since we had already picked one out, it was an easy sale! We saved $225 from the price just a week earlier and got free financing for 2 years! We are now looking forward to a new comfortable night sleep on our new pillowtop mattress next Saturday when it's delivered! I got the new pillows yesterday, so soon we might not wake up with a sore back & neck! Oh, that will be so nice!

Saturday, was such a great day. So nice to finally have spring here. The trees are starting to bud and bloom and the spring flowers are all up. Hannah gets so excited to see the flowers. It was great to open up all the windows Saturday and air the house out. We unfortunately spent a lot of the day inside because my house needed a good cleaning. Tony went golfing. Later that evening, we went over to Jerry & Shelly's for dinner. We stayed until past midnight, with Hannah and Maci going strong! Couldn't believe she stayed up that long, but of course fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Sunday was pretty much a lazy day. I felt a little alergy/sinus thing going on so I wasn't into doing much. I braved up and allowed BOTH Tony and Hannah grocery shopping with me. That's normally forbidden but it went OK. I only bought a couple of items not on the list and it didn't take me too much longer than usual. I have to say, I think I'll be leaving them home for a while though, it just turns out to be more work for some reason. I am also contiplating trying to go shopping once every two weeks. I'm getting tired of my Sunday turning into grocery shopping day every week. If I can plan my menus for 2 weeks and get most of what we need, that will free up part of my weekend - I'll give it a shot!

Lastly, Hannah made a huge step today. She told Val at daycare that she doesn't need her lovey's anymore. Val swore she didn't prompt it, but she said that Hannah explained that now that she's three, she only needs a lovey if she's scared. I asked her up and down about it and she said she didn't need one. I put her to bed tonight and she didn't want one, but after only about 10 minutes, she was crying. I went in her room and her "B" (the other lovey-bear thing) was all wet. I asked if she wanted a lovey instead and she said yes. But she told me she didn't need one in Daddy's car anymore.....wonder if I can break HIM of it in his car!!! We might be on our way to getting rid of them, but I'm not in a huge hurry as long as we can get to it being a bedtime-only thing.

And lastly, a post with no pictures isn't much fun, so here's a cute one of Hannah in her new spring coat that was given to us by a lady Randy works with. It's the cutest coat ever! These were taken two different days last week. Hannah got to wear a dress and a skirt - she's so in heaven with the nicer weather so she can wear more dresses and skirts! She's SUCH a girl!

Back from my business trip for a BUSY weekend

I gladly left Dallas on time Friday around 2:40 their time and arrived back home around 6:30. I can't remember a time that rainy Cleveland seemed like such a great place to be!!!

I met Tony and Hannah at the bouncy place we had her birthday party because they were there for one of the girl's from daycare's birthday party. I figured the playing and the party might overshadow my homecoming, but much to my surprise, Hannah literally came flying out of the bouncy thing into my arms when she saw me. It was great!! I was so happy to see them both again after a long week. We spent the rest of the evening at the party and by almost 9:00, Hannah has hit the wall. Peyton's party was fun!!

Saturday, we got up and decided to go out shopping for a new mattress. Tony's years of complaints had been confirmed by my good night sleep all week that we definitely need a new mattress. I wasn't quite prepared to spend $1000 though!!! I was a little sticker shocked and so we put the idea on hold for just a little longer. We'll definitely be doing it, but I am going to do a little searching to see if I can find a better deal somewhere else. After mattress shopping, we were on the hunt for Easter shoes for Hannah. We found a pair and then had lunch together. We headed home and all took nice, long naps!! That was much-needed!

Then I realized it was like 5:00 on Saturday evening and we still had to color eggs. So first, I had to send Tony out to buy the eggs and then I got them cooked. Then we all colored eggs. That was fun! Hannah thought it was so fun and pretty much wanted to make them all pink!

Then I made a quick grocery list for next week and Hannah and I went grocery shopping at like 8:00 at night. Sort of a good time to go since there weren't a million people out. I caught up on some of my DVR shows and then went to bed. The long nap I took, however, made me not tired at bedtime, which I'm sure I'll be paying for next week when I try to get back on schedule!

We got up this morning and Hannah said she heard a basket while she was sleeping. Not quite sure what a basket sounds like, but since she heard it, I told her we'd better go check it out. Before she went to bed last night, she asked me to be sure to shut her door tight all the way so in case the Easter Bunny came, he wouldn't come in her room. She evidently doesn't have the greatest perception of that guy (can't blame her....it's a little creepy!!) So anyway, we headed downstairs and she immediately saw some eggs hidden around the house. She thought it was really fun to find them and silly that they were hidden in some funny places! She enjoyed her basket, although she was again disappointed that she finally got some jelly beans and didn't like them! Maybe it was just the idea of candy in the morning, but she also threw away a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow peep. For some reason, all my pictures seemed to come out blurry this morning. I guess I had my camera on the wrong setting or something.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to church today. Awful, I know, since this is a really important day and it's what Easter is really all about. Hannah and I had a pretty deep discussion before bedtime last night that Easter is really about Jesus and not the Easter Bunny.

We got ready to meet Dad & Julia for brunch. Hannah looked stunningly beautiful in her new Easter-wear. All decked out with hat and gloves to boot!!! She loved looking so princess-like! Brunch was great.

Then we headed to Tony's sister's for a little bit and then home to relax the rest of the day away before heading back to work tomorrow.

I'm so glad to be back home and dreading another trip next month. Oh, well...it'll be over soon and then we can just enjoy our summer!!

Oh, and here's a cute picture of Tony & Hannah playing guitar hero together before I left!

Work Travel Is Awful

I'm out of town this week -too far away and for too long.
I had to go to Dallas this week for Six Sigma/Green Belt Training for work.
First of all, I have no interest in any of this Six Sigma stuff and I especially didn't want to go to Texas to learn it! I was "strongly encouraged (aka: forced) to do this by my senior leadership group. I basically signed up to do it when I wasn't too happy with my job and figured it was good for the resume. I was originally supposed to go to Columbus for it, which would have made it a little more OK. Instead, that class was cancelled and they conveniently moved me to the Dallas training.
I left Sunday afternoon around 3. I was really sad to go and just wanted to hug and kiss Hannah and Tony for as long as I could. I'm not afraid to fly, but the whole being away for a whole week just makes me really sad. My flight took 1/2 hour longer than planned, but I'm not sure why. We left on time and didn't encounter any bad weather, so who knows why we ended up being so late. I had to get a rental car, which normally wouldn't bother me, but as I got into it and pulled out of the parking lot into the unknown, I got really angry. Really angry that I'm here all alone and fending for myself to get to where I needed to be. Thank goodness for the GPS unit! Although, it was taking me the wrong way right away as I pulled out. Luckily, I had paper maps too, so between them both, I managed to find my way to the hotel fairly easily. People drive like idiots here! I was getting passed on both sides of me, but then again, I was sort of driving like an old lady that didn't know where she was going (at night, I might add!)

The one plus so far, the room is really nice. The bed is comfortable and makes me think maybe Tony's right that our mattress is awful! I didn't wake up with a sore back today, so maybe it is time to get a new one at home that isn't so firm. If only we had room for a king size too...that'd be nice, but perhaps just the new mattress will make our queen size bed better.

Today's class went pretty well. Again, I had to find my way to the office, which was only about 2 miles away and between the GPS and paper maps, I was fine. Today wasn't terrible as it was all the introductory stuff. The afternoon went a little slow, but I think it was just that I'm still on Eastern time and I was getting tired. I just grabbed a bite for dinner and brought it back to my room tonight and I'm so mad because I ordered a piece of cheesecake to snack on later and it wasn't in my bag!!! I guess I should have checked the bag before I left, but I didn't. The place is just around the corner and if I weren't expensing the meal, I'd probably go back and get it, but I'm already in comfy clothes and don't feel like going anywhere, so I guess it was my waistline's way of telling me I really didn't need the cheesecake anyway!!
TV is weird here - we're an hour behind (on Central time), but all the programming is the same as at home, so right now, it's 7:00 and I'm watching Dancing with the Stars already. This should help keep me sort of on the same schedule so I'm not all screwed up at the end of the week. Anyway, I hope this week goes fast because I don't want to be here and I can't wait to just be back home. I'll try not to keep thinking about the fact that I have to come back again next month.....YUCK!!

So in other news, Tony started a new job today. He's going back into the mortgage world after a year off. He's working for a bank now, which is a different setting than he has ever worked in, so maybe it will be better. We're hoping the economy and the stimulus things will make it a good time to go back. It's definitely his comfort zone and he hated his job where he was stuck in one place all day. I hope it will make him happier. I just talked to him for a few minutes, but it sounded like it was a good day for him. Hannah on the other hand was not good at gymnastics tonight. Evidently, she didn't listen and wouldn't sit still. I hope she's not a monster this week!

Miss you guys and can't wait to be home on Friday!! Love you!